Desertjunkie760's 2011 Not So Basic but Never a Bad Bitch Build Thread

Not that it matters too much, but what radio do you have?

You can do a mag-mount style antenna, but I personally like "hard mount"... that's if you have a place to put a hard mount.

The 2m Firestik I've never personally used so I don't know anything about it? Other than, I know that it exists and if it is for 2m then...

BUT, if you have a dual band radio then your 2m antenna will/should work with it, as most radios are 2m capable, but again, if it is dual band, then the "2nd band", which is likely 70cm (420-450MHz) will not work with that antenna. Thus, like Anthony is suggesting and/or has, try to get a dual band antenna.

"My" setup is slightly custom. I'm using a mount that was meant for CB and had to drill the hole slightly bigger to accommodate the SO-239 barrel connector.


The SO-239 connector is slightly larger in diameter than the lug-hole for a CB antenna.


My HAM antenna is the one directly behind passenger...



So, with that said and shown, it is up to you on which route you want to take. I personally don't care for mag-mounts and only have one for quick setups for whatever reason. So far, I have personally seen 3x mag-mounts slide off and/or even fall off the roof/cab, but these were seriously blasting through the desert washes. For me, as you and many others already know, putting an antenna up on my own vehicle is no big deal... simply because... I don't mind doing hard-mount and have many places/options for me/myself, if you get what I am trying to say? Other people are always on the fence, most of the time, on how/where they want to put their antenna as well as how much money to throw at a radio system. Over the years, I easily have roughly 2k invested (possibly more) in radios/accessories/tools/misc. Just my Yaesu FT-8900R costed me, at the time, just over $400 alone... just the radio itself. My point being, it doesn't bother "me" much on the decision making...

Finally, the antenna "I" use is a Comet SS-680SB PL-259 mount. (the one in the pic)

https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-010071

Regarding mag-mounts, you can get that same antenna in an NMO style typically used with mag-mounts. At my previous place of work, I had so many damn mag-mount antennas for my radio test rack it was F'N RIDICULOUS!!! There were times that I had to come up with some fairly elaborate adapter setups just to get something up and running for some late minute testing!!! Here my point being, these were the mag-mounts that I typically worked with and the magnets were pretty F'N strong.


To work with the Laird magnetic mount above:
https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-010072

Hope this helps and sorry if my post is LONG!!! I've made a name for myself as "The Wall of Randy"!!! Just trying to throw out as much info as I can and try to help out as much as I can...

Btw, mag-mounts are typically ordered as needed. That is, if you need BNC, then they will "custom order it as BNC", or PL-259, mini-UHF, etc etc etc... other than that, again, I typically don't use mag-mounts and will either do my own connectors or whatever I need it to be. That's been "MY" personal experiences with mag-mounts when going to places and/or ordering from places like HRO. Again, based off of my personal experiences with what I used to do at my previous job of almost 12yrs.

 

I used this mag mount:
https://www.amazon.com/Tram-1185-Amateur-Dual-Band-Antenna/dp/B0045EQUBK
I was able to pick up and transmit 15-20 miles over hills and mountains to our basecamp. It held on thru some heavy and high speed off roading. I tested it at 110 mph and it stayed put. The back of the cable is flexible enough to make mounting the antenna to the radio cake (with the bracket). But others have used 90º with success. I also cut the clear plastic this antenna comes in and used it as layer between the paint that the magnet to help protect the paint some.

 

Youre the man!

That’s why I asked.

I’m not a fan of the magnetic mounts. I’ve heard too many stories such as yours. I dont mind doing a solid mount as long as it doesn’t stick past the cab 5 ft like I’ve seen some CBs do.

I just picked up a Kenwood TM-281. I’ve got lots of reading to do coming up!

 

@desertjunkie760 sorry about this, just like he stated, I would do the same if you ever happen to do a mag-mount, for whatever reason, in the future. Most mag-mounts I've ever seen sold came with "rubber booties", but it doesn't hurt to help give that extra "layer of protection" just like what he did.

So, the Kenwood you have is a 2m dedicated only and I now know of 3x... possibly 4x people now that use this radio. My understanding is that you remove a resistor to "open" the frequency channels outside of the 2m band (i.e. typically only dedicated to 144-148MHz... without the resistor, you can TX outside of this range). This is a pretty nice radio with having 65W capability, but try to use the lowest wattage possible... as much as possible. 65W is ALOT of power, believe it or not!!! NO JOKE, you want to make sure to NEVER touch or have anyone "accidentally" touch the antenna while keying the radio at HIGH power or you WILL receive an "RF burn". Long story short, the radio was not being keyed, but it was having issues for some reason. I connect the antenna to an EXACT same radio and it worked just fine? Again, long story short, I go to grab the antenna itself because of how/where it was relative to me and NOT easy to get. So I had to really REACH and happened to grab a part of the antenna and that MrFr was HOT??? A different kind of "hot" and it really is hard to describe the feeling, but it hurt for DAYS!!! It ended up being that the Motorola XTL I was working with turned out to have some serious issues!!! I won't say what city radio contracted shop it was, but man was I F'N PI$$ED when I found out they F'd-UP on programming the radio and I had to start testing the new board and code as well as TX/RX across the city radio system.

Anyways, you want to use the lowest wattage and/or next to lowest wattage possible to help keep your radio "cool". Most radios, that I know of, have a thermal shutdown to protect itself from practically melting itself!!! Also, if you TX on HIGH power, especially 65W worth, you're gonna likely interfere with the guy next to you and/or each other if ALL of you are TX'ing at 65W in close proximity. Just my 2cents on the matter.

Anyways, the link to the antenna below is a "fold over" design and you can raise it at the base and bend it almost a complete 90* angle so you can drive into a garage or something with low clearance and you're getting ready to park. I have a similar one to this. The only thing though is that I don't know how well this particular one will hold up to "harsh off-roading conditions" (i.e. high speed desert washes and such)? But, it is a 2m dedicated.
https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-000101

The Firestik 2m antenna, like I said, I've seen them and/or know they exist, just never personally "experienced" one, if you will. Also, you typically do NOT need to worry about "tuning" like you do for CB, but it helps to have the antenna, like that, be able to be tunable anyways (i.e. a tuning lug at the tip of the antenna). The reason being, in my humble opinion, those antennas are "bottom feeders". Meaning, for example, the Comet SS-680SB is "tuned", so to speak simply because of its construction. The Firestik is more "sloppily made", if you will. I don't know how better to describe what I'm getting at and sorry for that?

If you plan on putting the antenna on either rear corner, then I HIGHLY ADVISE making sure to get a heavy duty type spring. I can tell you this much, that antenna is pretty heavy.

 

@desertjunkie760 Also, when it comes to the antennas, most mobile antennas are not as forgiving as CB whip style antennas. So smacking or a brush "grabbing" on to your antenna as you drive by could be a bad thing.

Me, I don't have to worry about my particular setup as it is somewhat protected by the cab even though a branch here and there has grabbed on to it as I'm driving by and then "pole vaulting" the MrFr!!! Very rare, but even my setup it happens. But, out on each of the corners they will definitely be more of a "target" for branches/shrubs to grab on to.

Just a lot of things to take into consideration here is all I am getting at. With a mag-mount, ever do you rarely have to worry about this happening other than "low ceiling situations". BUT, me, on a personal level, not a fan of mag-mounts. I don't hate them, I just personally don't prefer them.

Finally, the 2m Firestik isn't all that terribly expensive. I know @MotoEd has a 2m dedicated tunable, but I don't think it is 4ft?

Sorry for the runaround brotha, but as you can see, it's kinda hard for me to recommend other people on what to do and/or how to setup their radio for their rigs. I respect other peoples stuff quite a bit and don't like to go in guns blazing on telling them how to go about it. But, like I said, there really is quite a bit to take into consideration on how to setup a radio on your vehicle. Me, I plan when going about doing what I do for obvious reasons. One reason being that I don't like drilling unnecessary holes if I can avoid it or even taking/removing something that really doesn't need to be touched. It is no different when people go back and forth about what they want for their suspension and wheel/tire setup. Well, the same goes with me when it comes to radios and how "I" want to set it up. Same difference if you really think about it!!!

This is my "latest" setup that I've been wanting to finally COMPLETE!!!






I eventually plan on putting a 9ft CB whip on the RR-corner with a custom made CB antenna bracket.

 

Weird. I bet the loss of the bushing accelerated the cracking, that shit was flopping all over the place without one in there.

I wonder if I installed the energy suspension bushings soon enough that I stopped any issues on the core supports, everything between my frame rails is in pretty good shape and the only cracks between them are from where I've drilled through the sheet metal......Now, outboard of the frame rails is another story.....

 

Without a doubt the loss of the bushing increased the amount of stress and therefore the cracking. I went from having a few stress cracks that I knew I would have to deal with in the future to a crack right through the support within a few months. The crack is only on the side missing the bushing too.

Who knows how long it has been missing. I replaced them some time ago, but it’s not apart of my normal check list.

Idk if adding the bushings would stop the issue if it’s alreafy began. From my understanding the energy suspension bushings are a harder compound than the factory and able to take abuse but I would think they don’t absorb energy as well.

 

So I went to the local HAM radio shop today and tried to get some additional information. Unfortunately, I feel that my lack of knowledge was more of a “inconvenience “ to the gentleman than anything else. Very dissapointed with how that experience was.

I did walk away with a little more knowledge on the NOM mount and my options when looking for an antenna though. Being that we normally operate in the 151-155 MHz range on the trails, he said he Comet you use will not work well since it’s tuned to be in the 144-148MHz range.

 

Ouch, sounds like you got owned by nerds. They just not giving you the info you are looking for. A whip for 144 to 148 is what you are looking for. You need an SWR meter. You shorten the length to get the higher frequency you are looking for.

 

I guess I did!

Will a 144-148 antenna allow me to operate on the same channels that we use though? That was my understanding of it.

 

It will work, but you need to shorten it for the higher frequencies we use.

 

https://www.rightchannelradios.com/blogs/installation-guides/18330687-cb-antenna-tuning-instructions
roughly what you want to do, sure there is videos all over youtube also

 

I've got a meter to use so you don't have to buy one.
I just skimmed the nerdfest but i've also got that magnetic antenna that was noted and on some rough trails it has fallen off. Granted it works great. I'm not pushing enough to use it to its full potential.
However its nice not to have to drill into my roof.

 

That is true, but that goes for just about any HAM antenna since everyone operates out of the HAM bands. Nothing I can do about those conditions.

But, how much "will not work well" is more BS than anything. You will probably get SOME "loss" with TX, but NOT THAT much???!!! Honestly, HAM's and/or HAM shops frown upon illegal use and will try to steer you clear of such purchases. Also, kinda surprised he didn't somewhat lecture you about illegal use and such. Also, you want to keep things somewhat "low key", if you will, because each TX is a $10k fine and possible jail time... NO JOKE!!! Will they catch you? YOU DON'T KNOW THAT!!! I can go on and on, but will just leave it at that.

Btw, that is the one thing that most people don't understand about radios and such and I'm VERY HAPPY to hear that you have learned something with what he said, which is true to a large degree, but again, by how much "loss"... dude, NOT that much... I can't give an exact because operating out of band with an antenna meant for a certain "tuned frequency spectrum" blah blah blah blah blah would be pretty damn hard for me to figure how much loss, but I think I can feel comfortable in saying, "not that much loss will occur!!!"

So, with that said, that frequency range of 151-155MHz is right around the "commercial band". For example, Long Beach Fire Dispatch is: 153.950 and is actually pretty damn fun to listen to. I don't necessarily condone out of band TX'ing, but I can't stop someone from doing such and will NOT because of 1) I'm NOT a douche bag in telling someone not to do that, but will at least let them know the possible consequences 2) I'm NOT the F C C police and/or do they even come close to paying me to "police" 3) I'm just simply NOT a douche bag!!!

I hope this helps for now. Again, remember that you will NEVER really get an antenna to operate out of band and even if you did, you're going to have to find out what band you will be operating in and get an antenna for that particular frequency. Meaning, again, taking into consideration of what he said, how do you know that some jackhole says, "hey, we're going to be running 157.xxx? Just throwing some numbers out there, but I think you get where I'm going with this? Now your antenna won't "work well" because it isn't "tuned" for that particular frequency. Or put it this way, say your antenna system IS "tuned" for that particular transmission frequency, how do you know the receiving end is setup??? Get where I'm going with this particular thought process???!!!

Simply put, when operating out of band, like most off-roaders are doing these days, it gets STUPID COMPLICATED... technically speaking!!!

Again, hope I shed some more light???

 

How about a tailgate mount? These intrigue me.

https://www.google.com/search?clien...i131j0i22i10i30j33i22i29i30j33i21.joHZwTQ0wj0

 

Well Said!

You're not going to be winning any awards by how efficient your setup is, but its a not major issue. The TM-281 will push it out there! Even on low power and coat hanger for an antenna. Like said, turn your power down on the radio, don't stress the antenna tune thing (yet), don't be talking on channels that have chatter unless you know its a clean channel and the people on it (out wheeling), and you'll be fine. This is a great way to find out if you like it enough to get your lic, or if you just want comms in the truck. Don't mind fuk it

 

I would NEVER recommend drilling into ones roof!!! Bad JUJU!!!

 

Its not soo bad... Until the first rain. And your new headliner water stain

 

So due to the recent developments with Pelfreybilt I am forced to choose a new armor manufacturer, specifically for skid plates.

I’ve always been a huge Pelfrey fan not only because they design a great product, but from my experiences have always been good people. They were a local company and I like to support that, however, I am at a loss for words due to the recent events. Not necessarily at what happened but more at how it was handled.

With that said, I want to get some input on skid plates that people have a actual experience with. I currently have an All Pro IFS and it’s done me well but I’m not a huge fan of their transmission skid so I am going to start looking for a different setup. Looks like @RelentlessFab doesnt make skids anymore and I really don’t think it’s necessary for me to go with the 1/4” skids that @JLee makes. I want to stick with 3/16” steel due to mainly weight.

The @Mobtown Offroad skids really intrigue me due to the option to add “ribs” on the Inside for additional strength. Has anyone had experience with these? The major downfall is they are on the east coast so shipping would be expensive.